Take a tour of London's tallest residences

Take a tour of London's tallest residences

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Spire London

Height: 235m (771ft)

Storeys: 67

Completed: Estimated 2020

Spire London, an £800 million 771ft high rise promising “five-star lifestyle amenities”, is set to be the tallest wholly residential skyscraper in London and western Europe once it is completed in 2020.

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The Shard

Height: 309m (1,014ft)

Storeys: 95

Completed: 2013

Where? London Bridge

It might be more of a business icon than somewhere that screams cosy home comforts but the Shard actually contains ten residential apartments...

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The Shard

The dwellings are the most elevated homes in Western Europe with residents expected to be able to see the sea on a clear day from the top of the £1.5 billion glass spire.

The apartments are 62,000sq ft with floor-to-ceiling windows and situated on floors 53 to 65 of the 72-storey landmark. They are not yet finished and will be privately rented upon completion.

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South Bank Tower

Height: 155m (509ft)

Storeys: 41

Completed: 2016

The 1970s South Bank Tower, sandwiched between Blackfriars and Waterloo, was recently completely regenerated with a further 11 storeys added...

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South Bank Tower

It is currently the second highest residential spire in London. The addition of an extra 11 floors means it now has 191 apartments across 41 storeys.

Prices range from £2.45 million to £20 million – many of which are still available.

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Tower One St George Wharf

Height: 180m (580ft)

Storeys: 50

Completed: 2014

Where? Vauxhall

Britain’s current tallest solely residential skyscraper is a 50-floor apartment complex in Vauxhall (also known as the Vauxhall Tower). It boasts a £51 million five-storey penthouse spanning 23,000sq ft…

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Tower One St George Wharf

The floorplan of each storey resembles a Catherine Wheel, divided into five apartments with walls radiating out from a central core. The upper floors of the cylindrical tower have terraces with 360 degree views over the Thames and central London.

There is also a wind turbine at the very top of the building which generates power used to light communal areas.

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Strata

Height: 147m (482ft)

Storeys: 43

Completed: 2010

Where? Elephant and Castle

Nicknamed ‘the razor’ for its resemblance to an electric de-fuzzing device, the wholly residential Strata building in an affordable area of London contains 310 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom flats and a duplex penthouse at the very top worth upwards of £2.5 million…

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Strata

The 39th floor has a “Sky Lobby” – a corridor with views over central London. More affordable than some of its similarly altitudinous neighbours in the City, a quarter of it has been sold as shared ownership.

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Pan Peninsula

Height: 147m (481ft)

Storeys: 48

Completed: 2009

Where? Isle of Dogs

Also known as 1 Milllharbour, this residential development is the tallest of a slew of new high rises on the Isle of Dogs…

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Pan Peninsula

It has two towers with 38-storeys in the smaller one and an additional ten floors in the West Tower. LED lights of differing colours make the top of the Peninsula distinctively visible from across central London.

The towers house more than 780 residences from small studios to a penthouse priced at £10 million in 2006. There is a Sky Lounge on the 31st floor of the East Tower.

London is poised to become a city of high living for high-fliers, with a total of 436 buildings over 20 storeys in the pipeline, according to New London Architecture (NLA).

As part of these plans, the capital's highest residential skyscrapers are soon to be usurped by the arrival of another, taller kid on the block: Spire London, an £800 million 771ft high rise promising “five-star lifestyle amenities”.

The 67-storey tower, which will be home to 861 apartments, has been given the green light on a site in London’s Docklands. Once completed in 2020, it will be the joint-second tallest building in London - alongside Canary Wharf's One Canada Square, which is 245ft shorter than London's tallest building, The Shard in London Bridge.

Spire London will have a £3 million penthouse with five-storeys and views over the City

Yet, Spire London will claim the title of the tallest solely-residential skyscraper - not only in London but also in Western Europe - as One Canada Square is predominantly an office block.

Although The Shard contains ten 62,000sq ft rental apartments, located on the 53rd to 65th floors of the 95-storey landmark, all with 360-degree views, they are not yet available. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the soaring £1.5bn tower is also home to a luxury hotel, top-class restaurants and offices.

The five tallest buildings with residences in London

Building

Height

No. Floors

No. Apartments

The Shard

1,016ft

95

10

The Tower, One St George Wharf

594ft

50

214

South Bank Tower

509ft

41

191

Strata SE1

483ft

43

408

Pan Peninsula Tower

482ft

48

786

Work is due to start on Spire London in January 2017 so, until it is completed, the dizziest solely-residential skyscraper in the capital remains The Tower, One St George Wharf, in Vauxhall.

The cylindrical tower has terraces with 360-degree views over the Thames and central London. It boasts a £51 million five-storey penthouse spanning 23,000sq ft, but a three-bedroom apartment will set you back a comparatively modest £3 million.

The 1970s South Bank Tower, sandwiched between Blackfriars and Waterloo, recently underwent a complete refurbishment - adding a further 11 storeys, bringing it into skyscraper territory at 509ft and making it the second highest residential spire in London. It now has 191 apartments across 41 floors ranging from around £2 million to £20 million – many of which are still available to purchase.

The next tallest building you can live in is Strata SE1 in Elephant & Castle, nicknamed ‘the razor’ for its resemblance to the hair removal device, where a two-bedroom apartment will cost you around £1 million.

At 48 floors and a height of 482ft, Pan Peninsula Tower is just a foot shorter than Strata SE1. A studio flat will cost you just under £400,000 but a duplex on one of the highest floors will set you back closer to £2 million.